The Latin American and Caribbean integration bloc denounced in a communiqué last night that these actions ‘point to the concretion of an evident premeditated electoral fraud’.

It pointed out that the development of the ballot for the election of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency was organized ‘under a tendentious and unusual decree of ´state’ of exception, with impact in the provinces with the greatest popular electoral tradition.

Also, in an ‘atmosphere of general intimidation to the citizenship and of open advantage on the part of Daniel Noboa’s government’.

The text highlighted the democratic disposition of the Ecuadorian people in the defense of their sovereignty and democracy and supported the ‘demand for the revision of the electoral process, through a rigorous investigation’.

This should include, it suggested, ‘the integral audit of all procedures and measures, as well as the corresponding and transparent recount of the votes cast’.

He affirmed that this is the only way to guarantee respect for the will of the people and peace in the sister Republic of Ecuador.

The Ecuadorian National Electoral Council informed last night that the current president -with 92.66 percent of the votes checked- surpassed Luisa Gonzalez by obtaining 55.83 percent of the votes, while her rival only obtained 44.17 %.

This percentage represents more than 10 points of advantage, in an election in which experts and more than a dozen pollsters predicted a difficult prognosis.

After the results were announced, Gonzalez declared that it was the ‘most grotesque electoral fraud’ and abuse of power ever witnessed by Ecuadorians, and stated that Noboa never asked for a leave of absence from office, trampled democracy and imposed a new state of exception.

Today more than ever we have to be united and vigilant’, stressed the candidate, and called her followers to continue the fight.

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